David Shearer is a retired riverboat captain and founding member of the Boonesboro Boat Club who lives on the River just below Fort Boonesborough State Park. He has piloted from Beattyville where the North Fork, Middle Fork, and South Fork converge to become the Kentucky River above lock 14 all the way to Carrollton where the Kentucky meets the Ohio River below Lock 1. He has also worked most rivers east of the Mississippi.

Since 1985--the year the Commonwealth assumed control of Locks 5 through 12 from the Corps. of Engineers--David has watched the locks close, the banks deteriorate, the dams silt up, and the river become unnavigable.

He believes that a keeper is the only way to save the Kentucky River from more years of neglect and misappropriation of funds.

David believes that mobilizing public opinion is the way to convince government officials of the River's vital importance to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He is ready to introduce folks to their river, collect good data, organize the various agencies and organizations that are already active in the watershed, and encourage new leadership in communities throughout the basin.

Kentucky Riverkeeper Boat Captain David Shearer (right) with Leonard Falcone, owner of River Rat Boat Works upstream from Irvine